People of FBH Blog

Right now, only 18 percent of North Americans currently have a profile on Instagram. That’s paltry compared to Facebook (94%) or Twitter (47%). But here are five reasons why Instagram could explode in 2013.

1. Of those who have a profile, 61% have used it in the past 24 hours, an adoption level only surpassed by Facebook (at 84%).  By comparison, Twitter stands at 55%, Google Plus 44% and Pinterest 52%. So those currently using Instagram are pretty voracious users by comparison.
2. Of ALL those social media users surveyed, 48% declared they are using Instagram more often.  This blows the other major platforms out of the water. Facebook was the next-closest platform in terms of expressed growth.
3. Of those who have an Instagram profile, 83% use it at work, again surpassing even Facebook and YouTube by a long shot. One reason could be that sharing on Instagram requires no typing. You just snap a photo and post in seconds. One of my friends ran a series on Instagram where he snapped pictures – and rated — the crazy coffee cups in his office kitchen. Hilarious! Inspiration is everywhere, including work.
4. Today, 67% of Instagram’s users are under the age of 34. I project that there could be a huge upside across demographics because everybody loves sharing photos and it’s so easy to use even the non-tech savvy can master it in minutes. In fact, Instagram is the most user-friendly of all platforms.
5. Since Instagram is a mobile-only application, its adoption will increase as the trend toward smartphones continues in 2013.

There is also an intangible quality in play here that I think will make Instagram a red-hot property. There is an almost voyeuristic quality to Instagram that is lacking anywhere else and I think this will appeal to the same human qualities that drive the popularity of gossip magazines and reality TV shows. Of course lots of people post photos on Facebook … along with videos, cat memes and celebrity photos. But there is just something different, something more intimate, about how people are sharing their visual lives on Instagram. People show up less guarded on Instagram. I can’t really explain it, but it rocks.

Most people scoffed when Facebook acquired the 11-employee, non-revenue-producing Instagram earlier this year for $1 billion. But maybe they were on to something. The platform certainly seems to be poised to take a leap forward, according to this latest data.

So Instagram doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere soon, and it’s only positioned to grow, so follow our profile @flintbrandhouse (We also post pics of really cute cats).

(Mark Schaefer Data)

On September 6th, LinkedIn announced huge changes to Company Page design and user experience. “For companies, this means a more powerful way to build relationships with your target audience on LinkedIn,” said Mike Grishaver from LinkedIn’s Product Management team.

(See more details from this announcement here: http://bit.ly/LIupdate )

This sounds great, doesn’t it? The question is: are you prepared to optimize your own Company Page once these changes roll out to you?